Write a commentWilliam (Bill) Crist was the guest speaker at a recent meeting of the Rotary Club of Oswego held at Bishop’s Commons.
Crist provided a progress report on the development of the Lake Ontario Marine Sanctuary. He was a former member and president of the club and former superintendent of the Oswego City School District. He retired last year from the position of superintendent of the Syracuse Diocese Schools.
The Lake Ontario Marine Sanctuary became official on July 22, 2024 and was celebrated by a gathering of about 400 people on the Cahill Pier on September 6. The sanctuary incorporates 1,700 square miles of the eastern basin of Lake Ontario, extending from Pultneyville on the west to Cape Vincent on the north. The area includes 43 known shipwrecks and four aircraft. There are now sixteen marine sanctuaries in the United States with several more in the planning stages.
The process of establishing a new Sanctuary Advisory Council is now underway. It will consist of 15 to 30 members and alternates who are stakeholders and interested persons from business, organizations, and government. The council will be advisory to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the State of New York.
Exploratory work on the sanctuary has already begun using sophisticated equipment to map the bottom of the lake. It has found some previously unknown shipwrecks. Divers can go down to 130 feet and technical divers to 300 feet, but some wrecks have been found that are much deeper and could only be studied with remote operated vehicles. The deepest point in the lake within the sanctuary is 802 feet. Crist said, “We know more about the surface of the moon than we know about the bottom of our lakes and oceans.”
Plans for next year include continued mapping of the lake bottom and the selection of a location for a headquarters facility for the sanctuary. Other work includes selection of staff, planning of programs and partnerships, installing mooring buoys around wrecks, and studying other sanctuaries to learn best practices.
Anyone interested in becoming a Rotarian or to learn more about Rotary’s humanitarian work around the world and in the community is invited to attend a meeting of the Oswego Rotary Club any Tuesday at noon at Bishop’s Commons. The building is fully accessible with convenient parking. Visiting Rotarians and guests are welcome and may reserve lunch by contacting [email protected].
